EDITORIAL: Presidential children and the price of transparency

This week, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah found herself with her back against the wall, defending her children against accusations of moving into oil and gas – a sector recently placed under her office.

What remains unclear is whether the same concerns would have been raised had this function remained with the energy ministry.

The question is not hypothetical. A few years ago, President Hifikepunye Pohamba faced similar criticism when his daughter’s company, Kata Investments, was awarded a controversial housing tender worth N$16.4 million by the National Housing Enterprise (NHE), a state entity reporting to the presidency.

Presidents in Namibia wield significant executive power. They direct the administration, influence policy and oversee institutions.

Against this backdrop, how does the country balance two competing imperatives – ensuring that children of incumbent presidents are neither unfairly favoured nor unfairly excluded from legitimate economic opportunities simply because of who their parents are? Because in truth, there is no industry in Namibia that is outside the purview of the executive.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah emphasised this week: “My children have the full and equal right to participate in the country’s economy”. She is correct. Every citizen, regardless of family background, has the right to participate in the economy.

Yet the reality is that presidential children carry a heavier burden of scrutiny. Their every business move is public property, subject to intense debate, suspicion and speculation. Transparency, therefore, becomes not just desirable but essential. While their peers operate in relative anonymity, those connected to the presidency must navigate both opportunity and optics.

Namibia must confront this tension honestly. How to protect the rights of individuals to pursue enterprise while maintaining the integrity of institutions and public trust in a system where the executive wields vast influence.